Picture this: you’re staring at Google Maps on your laptop, watching that familiar blue route snake across the screen. “4 hours 32 minutes,” it says confidently. Perfect—leave at 9am, arrive by 2pm with time to spare. You plug the times into your spreadsheet with the satisfaction of someone who’s got it all figured out.
Except there’s a problem. That masterpiece of optimistic planning is about to transform your dream van life adventure into an exhausting disaster—and I learned this the hard way during what should have been an epic trip to Oktoberfest.
Booked on a whim and in the midst of a great depression, I booked a last minute ticket to a van life event in Skegvegas. Ok so it was nearer to Boston but it turned out to be Lincolnshires Biggest Vanlife event. Here’s my video of what was like
Skegvegas Vanlife 2023
If you dont want to watch the video was ti any good. Hell yes. Despite having I would say a couple of thousand van’s there it still managed to retain a certain charm and atmosphere but that was no doubt helped but the good, if somewhat windy weather.
It’s definitely worth going to and indeed getting there early unlike me to really make the most out of the weekend as theres no staying overnight on a sunday. This is friday to sunday event.
Will I go again. For sure. Despite it not being a event I would say you would make friends at due to its size and the hipster nature of it, read the cliche of guys wearing baseball hats, short sleeve Teese and a long beard is becoming a touch cliche now, it’s well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.
Other than me ripping on the hipster style of things the only bad thing I have to say about Skegvegas Vanlife is the fact it’s so far away from where I live.
It’s time to visit a new van life festival and this is a new one. The Vanlife and Overlander Celebration is a new event for 2023 based at the Newbury Showground. In this video I take you for a look around the event before it actually kicks off.
Owning a van opens up a world of possibilities for adventure and exploration. Here are five exciting activities you can enjoy with your new van.h
1. Embark on a Road Trip
A van is the perfect vehicle for a road trip. Its spacious interior can carry all your essentials, making long drives comfortable and enjoyable. Explore new cities, visit landmarks, and take in the scenic routes. The journey is just as important as the destination when you’re on a road trip.
Enjoying a scenic drive during a road trip.
2. Go Camping
With the right modifications, your van can transform into a cozy camper. This allows you to immerse yourself in nature without sacrificing comfort. Park in a beautiful location and have everything you need right at your fingertips. Don’t forget to equip your van with the best portable showers for a comfortable camping experience.
Camping under the stars with the van.
3. Take a Surfing Trip
If you’re a surfing enthusiast, your van is the perfect companion. It has ample space for all your surf gear, allowing you to drive to the best surf spots with ease. Plus, you can sleep in the van, letting you catch the first waves at dawn.
Ready to hit the waves after a good night’s sleep in the van.
4. Go Mountain Biking
Your van can easily transport mountain bikes, making it ideal for a mountain biking adventure. Drive to the best trails and have a comfortable place to rest and recover after a day of biking.
Resting after a thrilling day of mountain biking.
5. Plan a Fishing Trip
For those who enjoy fishing, a van is a great asset. Store all your fishing gear in the van, and even plan multi-day fishing trips with the convenience of sleeping in the van.
Enjoying a peaceful fishing trip with the van.
Your van is more than just a vehicle; it’s a ticket to countless adventures. With the right accessories and modifications, you can enhance these experiences even further. Whether it’s adding a pop-top roof for extra sleeping space, installing a kitchen unit for cooking meals, or adding a bike rack for carrying bikes, the possibilities are endless.
Embrace the van life and start your adventure today!
After last year’s unforgettable van life uk festival (check out my review here), I couldn’t contain my excitement and anticipation for the next instalment. Promised to be the UK’s largest van life event, I wondered if scaling up would compromise the genuine festival atmosphere and allow sponsorships to dominate. Well, let me regale you with tales from Vanlife Fest Festival 2023, where the vans roamed free, the traffic jams were epic, and the laughs were aplenty.
In an effort to attract a more diverse (and younger crowd) the Camping and Caravan club teamed up with the Warner group UK to host the Campervan Campout. Can the old school Caravan and Camping crowd attract the van life community or was this just a cash in?
If you’re a van lifer, you know that festivals are a great way to meet other van-dwellers, explore new places, and have some fun. But with so many different festivals to choose from, it can be hard to know what to pack. Here are a few unique festival must-haves for van lifers:
2022 was the first year of this festival, funded by the European investing fund and billed itself
Gwên Gwen is an independent music + art festival held in the historic market town of Kidwelly, on the beautiful Welsh coast.
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The Gwen Gwen Festival is an annual event that takes place in Kidwelly, a small town located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The festival celebrates the local Welsh culture and heritage, with a focus on music, art, and food.
Gwen Gwen Festival 2023 Tickets
The festival will be back for 2023 from Fri, 11 Aug 2023 18:00 – Sun, 13 Aug 2023 23:00 BST. Tickets can be purchased via eventbrite.
This is it, the van is ready to go and I’ve been wanting to go to a vanlife festival for a number of years. So when I saw the self-build campervan event in Stroud, at a brewery, I figured it was a perfect way to get help and advice with my own van, learn from others, and it’s at a brewery. Surely a perfect win-win scenario, little did I know how wrong I was going to be.
Stroud Brewery Parking Costs
Nice and simple here with 2 price tiers
Showing off my nice van Stays will be equivalent to £10 a night at £20 weekend ticket (you will receive 2x beer tokens for showing your van) or Looking at nice vans – Weekend Camping Stays will be equivalent to £10 a night at £20
After booking a follow up email was received asking for the dimensions for my van so that pitches can be allocated which makes sense. However after emailing I never got a reply back to say thank you for your email nor when I followed up just to make sure the first email was received . Not a biggie but some automated reply would have been nice, however this was some MAJOR foreshadowing on what was to come.
Parking At Stroud Brewery
To be fair there was plenty of parking but that’s only if you arrived late. Yes you read that right, if you turned up late you had the better option of parking!
Let me explain,tThe keen types amongst us who got there in the afternoon pulled up, met by 2 members of staff, checked my reg no and said, let’s just put you over there. So why bother to ask for details for the vans?
The parking was nothing short of horrendous and borderline dangerous.
To get into the car parking space relied one someone moving out so I could get in. One van who had parked as far back as he could to make space was entirely boxed in.
Should there have been any problems, none of us was getting out of there in any quick fashion. This was made worse by an extra long wheel base being in the car park space that really should have been for the med wheel base type vans. We quickly referred to our parking spot at the goal.
The good news is that we had a portaloo.
Car Park Rating 0/10
Overall
I really don’t have much in terms of positive things to say about this “event” and left feeling more like we all were renting a car parking spot on a first come first served basis, rather than this being some event.
The parking in our area was dangerous and if there had been a need to get out quickly, that wasn’t going to happen. Yes it’s something that I’ve harked on about time and time again, yes it was cheap but in the event someone needed to get out that wasnt going to happen
I’m a patient person but when you’re waiting 20 minutes for a pint thats a joke, apparently the upstairs bar was open, but with no signage or helpful staff to say how were we supposed to know.
The staff in general I found rude, the cup of tea incident still sticks in my craw again again I am a patient person, it’s not like I’d been drunk or rowdy but serving me a £7.50 bacon roll (which was nice btw) seemed to be beneath this one member of staff.
I had several heated debates to cut Stroud brewery some slack because it was their first event like this. However they have events at least 3 times a week, so no slack is to be given. This was more evident during the presentations where they had a mixing desk, plugged in and yet the brave souls were having to shout so the people at the end of the room could hear.
Taking away some very small positives. I met 2 great people @bearfootandgus and @heather_n_bella who we’ve agreed to meet up and do Stratford Upon Avon
Enjoying a scenic drive during a road trip.
Camping under the stars with the van.
Ready to hit the waves after a good night’s sleep in the van.
Resting after a thrilling day of mountain biking.
Enjoying a peaceful fishing trip with the van.
